Yemeni Presidential Council Settles Issue of Over 52,000 Dismissed Employees

The head of the Presidential Leadership Council in Yemen, Rashad al-Alimi, signs the decision to reinstate and promote over 52,000 persons (Saba)
The head of the Presidential Leadership Council in Yemen, Rashad al-Alimi, signs the decision to reinstate and promote over 52,000 persons (Saba)
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Yemeni Presidential Council Settles Issue of Over 52,000 Dismissed Employees

The head of the Presidential Leadership Council in Yemen, Rashad al-Alimi, signs the decision to reinstate and promote over 52,000 persons (Saba)
The head of the Presidential Leadership Council in Yemen, Rashad al-Alimi, signs the decision to reinstate and promote over 52,000 persons (Saba)

The head of the Presidential Leadership Council in Yemen, Rashad al-Alimi, decided to address the problem of tens of thousands of dismissed army, security, and civil sector servants in the southern governorates of the country.

The decision aimed to settle the conditions of over 52,000 persons who were terminated from their jobs, including about 9,000 civilians.

Alimi signed the reinstatement, promotions, settlements, and wage increments for 52,766 individuals compelled to vacate their positions following the civil war in 1994.

The decisions approved the procedures of the previously formed committee that deals with the grievances of the employees forcibly dismissed from their positions in southern Yemen.

The committee included procedures for reinstating and compensating personnel dismissed from their jobs in the armed forces, internal forces, and political security (intelligence) services.

Aden residents and forces of the National Dialogue Conference welcomed the step, which will contribute to improving the lives of many families of the exiled, but they called for enhancing services to improve their standard of living.

Recognition of the case

Public servant Ahmed Nasser called for improving the salary scale, adding that improving the services is a public demand.

Khaled Mohammad, a soldier who benefited from the decision, confirmed that the military personnel suffered greatly after being granted low pension salaries.

Mohammad described the decision as an admission that their case is just, noting that it reflects the Council's awareness of the injustice against them.

Author Abd Rabbo Nasser described the decision to form a committee to address the issues of civil, security, and military employees in the southern governorates as sound.

He indicated that the committee made significant efforts, and Alimi's decision in implementing the recommendations is fair to those dismissed from their jobs and subjected to injustice for decades due to political conflicts.

- Brave move

Yemeni Minister of Information Moammar al-Eryani held a press conference with the committee of the dismissed employees.

Eryani said the "brave" move of the President of the PLC addressed the issues resulting from the dismissal and restored the rights of the Southern employees.

He indicated that this decision reflects the fulfillment of Alimi's pledges before the House of Representatives, as reflected in the national dialogue outcomes, the transitional period's agreement as organized by the Gulf initiative and its executive mechanism, and the outputs of the Riyadh consultations.

Eryani said the step confirms the state's seriousness in dealing with all outstanding issues, resolving all grievances, restoring people's rights, and opening a new page where justice and fairness prevail.

The minister renewed the call for broad popular support for the Presidential Leadership Council in addressing all the damages resulting from past issues.

Eryani praised the committee, saying it had made tremendous efforts over ten years since its establishment and would address the grievances in other governorates in future stages.

He renewed the call to friendly countries and international partners to mobilize efforts and support the government to implement these decisions.

- Humanitarian motives

The head of the committee, Judge Sahel Hamzah, confirmed at the press conference that its work stems from humanitarian motives without any political bias, which ensured its success since its establishment ten years ago.

He explained that the committee members conducted field visits in the Southern governorates, and despite the difficulties, they succeeded in achieving the goals.

Hamzah noted that the next step would be mobilizing local and international funding to implement the decisions stipulated in the presidential decree.

Meanwhile, Nasser Baqazouz, the former Minister of Tourism in the Houthi government, confirmed that the head of the Houthi Governing Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, expelled several employees from the Southern governorates.

Baqazouz stated that no employee from the Southern governorates was working in the presidential office in Sanaa.

He called on the Houthis to learn from Alimi and restore the rights of the Southerners.



Iran Seeks to Turn ‘New Page’ in Ties with Lebanon

 In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
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Iran Seeks to Turn ‘New Page’ in Ties with Lebanon

 In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)
In this photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office, Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, right, shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency press office via AP)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Lebanese officials on Tuesday that Iran wanted to turn a "new page" in relations with Beirut, hinting at a shift in diplomatic ties that were long grounded in supporting Tehran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah was once a powerful armed movement and political party with sway over Lebanon's state, but it was severely weakened by Israel's bombing campaign last year. Since then, Lebanon's army commander was elected president and a new cabinet with curtailed influence for Hezbollah and its allies took power.

Araqchi's one-day trip to Beirut on Tuesday was his first since February, when he attended the funeral of Hezbollah's secretary general Hassan Nasrallah, killed in Israeli air strikes in September.

Araqchi told both Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi that he wanted to "turn a new page" in Iran's ties with Lebanon, according to statements by Salam and Raggi's offices.

"Araqchi affirmed his country's keenness to open a new page in bilateral relations with Lebanon, based on mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs," Salam's office said. Araqchi also extended a formal invitation for Salam to visit Iran.

The statement from Raggi's office said the pair had a "frank and direct discussion," including on establishing the state's monopoly on the use of arms - an apparent reference to possible negotiations on the future of Hezbollah's arsenal.

The top Iranian diplomat briefly addressed reporters on Tuesday after meeting with Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who is a key Hezbollah ally. Unlike previous addresses by Iranian diplomats, his comments did not mention Hezbollah.

The visit followed several turbulent episodes in ties between the two countries.

Lebanon's foreign ministry summoned Iran's ambassador to Beirut in April over comments alleging that plans to disarm Hezbollah were a "conspiracy".

Last year, then-Prime Minister Najib Mikati also issued a rare rebuke of Iran for "interfering" in internal Lebanese affairs.

In February, Iran blocked Lebanese planes from repatriating dozens of Lebanese nationals stranded in Tehran after Lebanon said it would not allow Iranian aircraft to land in Beirut because of Israel's threats that it would bomb the planes.